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A rapid in vitro polyomavirus DNA replication assay.

Traditionally, the Hirt extraction method, a multi-step, labor-intensive and time-consuming procedure, is employed to extract selectively low-molecular weight DNA for polyomavirus DNA replication analyses. DNA replication results obtained with this approach are often inconsistent between replicate samples. To increase the efficiency and reproducibility of the polyomavirus DNA replication assay, we compared the DNA quality and yield using Qiagen Spin Column technology and the Hirt extraction technique. CV-1 cells transfected with SV40 DNA were harvested at days 2, 4, and 6 post-transfection, and DNA was extracted using the Qiagen Spin Column and the Hirt extraction methods. Southern hybridization was performed using a (32)P-labeled linear full-length SV40 DNA probe. Viral DNA replication was quantitated using a BioRad phosphorimager, and results obtained with the two procedures were compared. Southern blot analysis revealed consistent and enhanced SV40 DNA recovery using the Qiagen Spin Column technology, and viral DNA replication over a 6-day period was reproducible among triplicate samples. In addition, Qiagen Spin Column technology reduced the time required to obtain good quality DNA for polyomavirus replication assays from 24 h to less than 3 h. Adoption of this extraction procedure will improve the determination of polyomavirus DNA replication activity, while reducing the investigator's exposure to and disposal of toxic organic compounds.

DNA, Viral↗

The Schizosaccharomyces pombe spo6+ gene encoding a nuclear protein with sequence similarity to budding yeast Dbf4 is required for meiotic second division and sporulation.

BACKGROUND: Sporulation of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is a cell differentiation process which accompanies meiosis. The spo6+ gene was identified as a sporulation-specific gene, whose transcription was regulated by the forkhead family transcription factor Mei4. RESULTS: spo6+ encodes a protein with sequence similarity to Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dbf4p, which is required for the initiation of DNA replication. However, doubling time and cell morphology of spo6 deletion mutants and spo6-cDNA over-expressing cells were indistinguishable from wild-type cells. Spliced mature mRNAs of spo6+ appeared when diploid cells committed to meiosis. Spo6p fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) preferentially localized in a nucleus. Although spo6Delta diploids normally underwent premeiotic DNA replication and meiosis-I, approximately 80% of cells were blocked at the binucleate stage during meiosis and virtually no asci were formed. Anti-tubulin staining revealed that only 25% of the binucleate cells assembled spindle microtubules for meiosis-II. In a small number of tetranucleate cells, sister nuclei insufficiently separated and spindles were frequently fragmented. The meiosis-II arrest phenotype was exaggerated at low temperature and in the presence of caffeine. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that Spo6p is a novel Dbf4-related nuclear protein, which is expressed during meiosis and is indispensable for normal progression of meiosis-II and sporulation.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Uncoupling global and fine-tuning replication timing determinants for mouse pericentric heterochromatin.

Mouse chromocenters are clusters of late-replicating pericentric heterochromatin containing HP1 bound to trimethylated lysine 9 of histone H3 (Me3K9H3). Using a cell-free system to initiate replication within G1-phase nuclei, we demonstrate that chromocenters acquire the property of late replication coincident with their reorganization after mitosis and the establishment of a global replication timing program. HP1 dissociated during mitosis but rebound before the establishment of late replication, and removing HP1 from chromocenters by competition with Me3K9H3 peptides did not result in early replication, demonstrating that this interaction is neither necessary nor sufficient for late replication. However, in cells lacking the Suv39h1,2 methyltransferases responsible for K9H3 trimethylation and HP1 binding at chromocenters, replication of chromocenter DNA was advanced by 10-15% of the length of S phase. Reintroduction of Suv39h1 activity restored the later replication time. We conclude that Suv39 activity is required for the fine-tuning of pericentric heterochromatin replication relative to other late-replicating domains, whereas separate factors establish a global replication timing program during early G1 phase.

Animals↗

The replication timing of the amplified dihydrofolate reductase genes in the Chinese hamster ovary cell line CHOC 400.

We have examined the timing of replication of the amplified dihydrofolate reductase genes in the methotrexate-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cell line CHOC 400 using two synchronization procedures. DNA replicated in the presence of 5-bromodeoxyuridine was collected from cells of various times during the DNA synthesis phase and the extent of replication for defined sequences was determined by Southern blotting analysis of CsCl density gradient fractions. We report that under these conditions the DHFR gene replicates throughout the course of S phase in a mode similar to the bulk of the replicated genomic DNA. This contrasts with previous data that shows the non-amplified DHFR gene replicates during the first quarter of S phase. Therefore, we conclude that gene amplification alters the replication timing of the DHFR gene in CHOC 400 cells.

Animals↗

Tissue-specific profile of DNA replication in the swimming larvae of Ciona intestinalis.

The cell cycle is strictly regulated during development and its regulation is essential for organ formation and developmental timing. Here we observed the pattern of DNA replication in swimming larvae of an ascidian, Ciona intestinalis. Usually, Ciona swimming larvae obtain competence for metamorphosis at about 4-5 h after hatching, and these competent larvae initiate metamorphosis soon after they adhere to substrate with their papillae. In these larvae, three major tissues (epidermis, endoderm and mesenchyme) showed extensive DNA replication with distinct pattern and timing, suggesting tissue-specific cell cycle regulation. However, DNA replication did not continue in aged larvae which kept swimming for several days, suggesting that the cell cycle is arrested in these larvae at a certain time to prevent further growth of adult organ rudiments until the initiation of metamorphosis. Inhibition of the cell cycle by aphidicolin during the larval stage affects only the speed of metamorphosis, and not the formation of adult organ rudiments or the timing of the initiation of metamorphosis. However, after the completion of tail resorption, DNA replication is necessary for further metamorphic events. Our data showed that DNA synthesis in the larval trunk is not directly associated with the organization of adult organs, but it contributes to the speed of metamorphosis after settlement.

Age Factors↗

Sequence of protein synthesis in cells infected by human cytomegalovirus: early and late virus-induced polypeptides.

At least 10 distinct early virus-induced polypeptides were synthesized within 0 to 6 h after infection of permissive cells with cytomegalovirus. These virus-induced polypeptides were synthesized before and independently of viral DNA replication. A majority of these early virus-induced polypeptides were also synthesized in nonpermissive cells, which do not permit viral DNA replication. The virus-induced polypeptides synthesized before viral DNA replication were hypothesized to be nonstructural proteins coded for by the cytomegalovirus genome. Their synthesis was found to be a sequential process, since three proteins preceded the synthesis of the others. Synthesis of all early cytomegalovirus-induced proteins was a transient process; the proteins reached their highest molar ratios before the onset of viral DNA replication. Late viral proteins were synthesized at the time of the onset of viral DNA replication, which was approximately 15 h after infection. Their synthesis was continuous and increased in molar ratios with the accumulation of newly synthesized viral DNA in the cells. The presence of the amino acid analog canavanine or azetadine during the early stage of infection suppressed viral DNA replication. The amount of viral DNA synthesis was directly correlated to the relative amount of late viral protein synthesis. Because synthesis of late viral proteins depended upon viral DNA replication, the proteins were not detected in permissive cells treated with an inhibitor of viral DNA synthesis or in nonpermissive cells that are restrictive for cytomegalovirus DNA replication.

Canavanine↗

Bacterial DNA synthesized under phage control in a DNA-defective Salmonella-mutant and packaged into a special fraction of transducing particles of phage P22.

Lysates of P22 contain a small fraction of transducing particles with bacterial DNA replicated semiconservatively after the time of infection. It was demonstrated that the presence and relative amount of this class of transducing particles was unchanged, if infection of Salmonella occured under a condition nonpermissive for bacterial DNA replication. Analysis of particles with DNA fragments derived from different regions of the Salmonella chromosome indicated that the replication of the bacterial DNA carried by these transducing particles was not initiated specifically at the normal origin for bacterial chromosome replication.

DNA Replication↗

Spectrum of mutations induced by methyl and ethyl methanesulfonate at the hprt locus of normal and tag expressing Chinese hamster fibroblasts.

This work describes the isolation and characterization of methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) induced 6-thioguanine-resistant mutants in normal and Escherichia coli tag gene expressing Chinese hamster fibroblast, RJKO, cells. It was previously shown that increased removal of 3-alkylated adenine, effected by 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase I (Tag), reduces the frequencies of hprt mutations induced by alkylating agents which produce mostly N-alkylation (MMS and EMS) to half the normal rate. In order to identify which type of mutation is suppressed by increased 3-alkyladenine repair we have determined the DNA base sequence changes of the hprt cDNA in 61 independent MMS- and EMS-induced mutant clones. For both cell types and irrespective of the agent used, the majority of mutations were GC to AT transitions originating in the non-transcribed strand. Only 6/55 base substitutions occurred at AT base pairs: five AT to GC transitions and one AT to CG transversion. Six mutations were found to be deletions. These results indicate that 3-alkylated adenines in DNA are not directly premutagenic. The fact that the mutation frequency is reduced by increased 3-alkyladenine removal might be explained by postulating the existence in mammalian cells of an SOS-like response turned on by cytotoxic lesions like 3-alkyladenine, or, alternatively, that increased removal of 3-alkyladenine increases the number of single-strand breaks in DNA, which stalls DNA replication and allows a prolonged time for DNA repair by the alkyltransferase.

Alkylation↗

DNA replication analysis of FMR1, XIST, and factor 8C loci by FISH shows nontranscribed X-linked genes replicate late.

The relationship between the transcriptional state of a locus and the time when it replicates during DNA synthesis is increasingly apparent. Active autosomal genes tend to replicate early, whereas inactive ones are more permissive and frequently replicate later. Although the inactive X chromosome replicates later than its active homologue, little is known about the replication of X-linked genes. We have used FISH to examine the replication of loci on the active X chromosome that are not transcribed, either because the tissue analyzed was not the expressing tissue (F8C), because the locus is silent on all active X chromosomes (XIST), or because it has been mutated by expansion and methylation of a CpG island (FMR1). In this assay, an unreplicated locus is characterized by a single hybridization signal, and a replicated locus is characterized by a doublet hybridization signal. The percentage of doublets is used as a measure of relative time of replication in S phase. The validity of this approach has been established elsewhere, since results compare favorably with those obtained using traditional methods for studying DNA replication. Our results show that the FMR1 gene replicates relatively later in fragile X (fraX) males with the full mutation than in normal males, irrespective of the probe used. The F8C locus is late replicating in both normal and fraX males and replicates at nearly the same time on active and inactive X in females. The XIST locus replicates late in all the males studied and asynchronously in female cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cells, Cultured↗

Uncoupling of S-phase and mitosis by recombinant cytotoxic necrotizing factor 2 (CNF2).

Cytotoxic necrotizing factor 2 (CNF2) is an exotoxin identified from virulent clinical isolates of Escherichia coli. It has been characterized in adherent cell lines as an inducer of cellular death, hyperploidy (multinucleation), and cytoskeletal reorganization. The molecular mechanism of these actions is unclear. Two cellular mechanisms can be hypothesized to explain the DNA content increase (hyperploidy) induced by the toxin. The first is that the toxin interferes with cytoplasmic division without interfering with normal nuclear cycling, such that DNA is replicated in the absence of cell division. The second is that the toxin drives the nuclear machinery to replicate the DNA multiple times within one cell cycle, without interfering with cytoplasmic division. In order to investigate these phenomena, we have constructed a recombinant CNF2 gene that expresses a toxin with both an epitope tag and a polyhistidine tag. Extracts made from E. coli that express this gene have a high multinucleating activity that colocalizes with the recombinant 115-kDa protein. To distinguish between these hypotheses, we used recombinant CNF2 and several growth conditions (time, partial differentiation, and stage of growth) to establish a relationship between cellular divisions and generation of hyperploidy. It was also determined that the toxin had no effect upon in vitro DNA replication using a Xenopus egg extract system. In aggregate, these data are consistent with the hypothesis that CNF2 is affecting cytoplasmic division and thereby removing the requirement for a completed mitosis before the initiation of another S-phase. These data are discussed in relation to the generation of polyploid cells during megakaryopoeisis and the generation of aneuploid cells during tumorigenesis.

3T3 Cells↗

Chromosome structure and DNA replication in nurse and follicle cells of Drosophila melanogaster.

In the nurse cells of Drosophila, nuclear DNA is replicated many times without nuclear division. Nurse cells differ from salivary gland cells, another type of endoreplicated Drosophila cell, in that banded polytene chromosomes are not seen in large nurse cells. Cytophotometry of Feulgen stained nurse cell nuclei that have also been labeled with 3H-thymidine shows that the DNA contents between S-phases are not doublings of the diploid value. In situ hybridization of cloned probes for 28S + 18S ribosomal RNA, 5S RNA, and histone genes, and for satellite, copia, and telomere sequences shows that satellite and histone sequences replicate only partially during nurse cell growth, while 5S sequences fully replicate. However, during the last nurse cell endoreplication cycle, all sequences including the previously under-replicated satellite sequences replicate fully. In situ hybridization experiments also demonstrate that the loci for the multiple copies of histone and 5S RNA genes are clustered into a small number of sites. In contrast, 28S + 18S rRNA genes are dispersed. We discuss the implications of the observed distribution of sequences within nurse cell nuclei for interphase nuclear organization. In the ovarian follicle cells, which undergo only two or three endoreplication cycles, satellite, histone and ribosomal DNA sequences are also found by in situ hybridization to be underrepresented; satellite sequences may not replicate beyond their level in 2C cells. Hence the pathways of endoreplication in three cell types, salivary gland, nurse, and follicle cells, share basic features of DNA replication, and differ primarily in the extent of association of the duplicated chromatids.

Animals↗

Heterogeneity in nuclear transport does not affect the timing of DNA synthesis in quiescent mammalian nuclei induced to replicate in Xenopus egg extracts.

Intact G0 nuclei from quiescent mammalian cells initiate DNA synthesis asynchronously in Xenopus egg extracts, despite exposure to the same concentration of replication factors. This indicates that individual nuclei differ in their ability to respond to the inducers of DNA replication. Since the induction of DNA synthesis requires the accumulation of replication factors by active nuclear transport, any variation in the rate of transport among nuclei could contribute to the variability of DNA replication. Using the naturally fluorescent protein allophycocyanin (APC) coupled with the nuclear localization sequence (NLS) of SV40 T antigen, as a marker of nuclear uptake, we show here that individual G0 nuclei differ in their rate of transport over a range of more than 20-fold. Surprisingly, this variation has no direct influence on the timing or extent of DNA synthesis. Similar results were obtained by monitoring the uptake of nucleoplasmin, a nuclear protein present at high levels in egg extracts. These experiments show that the initiation of DNA synthesis is not driven merely by the accumulation of replication factors to some threshold concentration. Instead, some other explanation is needed to account for the timing of initiation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

OriDB: a DNA replication origin database.

Replication of eukaryotic chromosomes initiates at multiple sites called replication origins. Replication origins are best understood in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, where several complementary studies have mapped their locations genome-wide. We have collated these datasets, taking account of the resolution of each study, to generate a single list of distinct origin sites. OriDB provides a web-based catalogue of these confirmed and predicted S.cerevisiae DNA replication origin sites. Each proposed or confirmed origin site appears as a record in OriDB, with each record comprising seven pages. These pages provide, in text and graphical formats, the following information: genomic location and chromosome context of the origin site; time of origin replication; DNA sequence of proposed or experimentally confirmed origin elements; free energy required to open the DNA duplex (stress-induced DNA duplex destabilization or SIDD); and phylogenetic conservation of sequence elements. In addition, OriDB encourages community submission of additional information for each origin site through a User Notes facility. Origin sites are linked to several external resources, including the Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD) and relevant publications at PubMed. Finally, a Chromosome Viewer utility allows users to interactively generate graphical representations of DNA replication data genome-wide. OriDB is available at www.oridb.org.

Chromosomes, Fungal↗

Involvement of an SCFSlmb complex in timely elimination of E2F upon initiation of DNA replication in Drosophila.

BACKGROUND: Cul1 is a core component of the evolutionarily conserved SCF-type ubiquitin ligases that target specific proteins for destruction. SCF action contributes to cell cycle progression but few of the key targets of its action have been identified. RESULTS: We found that expression of the mouse Cul1 (mCul1) in the larval wing disc has a dominant negative effect. It reduces, but does not eliminate, the function of SCF complexes, promotes accumulation of Cubitus interruptus (a target of SCF action), triggers apoptosis, and causes a small wing phenotype. A screen for mutations that dominantly modify this phenotype showed effective suppression upon reduction of E2F function, suggesting that compromised downregulation of E2F contributes to the phenotype. Partial inactivation of Cul1 delayed the abrupt loss of E2F immunofluorescence beyond its normal point of downregulation at the onset of S phase. Additional screens showed that mild reduction in function of the F-box encoding gene slimb enhanced the mCul1 overexpression phenotype. Cell cycle modulation of E2F levels is virtually absent in slimb mutant cells in which slimb function is severely reduced. This implicates Slimb, a known targeting subunit of SCF, in E2F downregulation. In addition, Slimb and E2F interacted in vitro in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: We have used genetic and physical interactions to identify the G1/S transcription factor E2F as an SCFSlmb target in Drosophila. These results argue that the SCFSlmb ubiquitin ligase directs E2F destruction in S phase.

Animals↗

Polyomavirus early-late switch is not regulated at the level of transcription initiation and is associated with changes in RNA processing.

Polyoma gene expression is temporally regulated during productive infection of mouse cells. Early genes are expressed throughout the viral life cycle, but late mRNAs are not detected until after the onset of DNA replication. At late times, late-strand transcripts represent the great majority of viral-specific RNA in the cell. To learn more about the mechanism by which the early-late switch is regulated, we have carried out a detailed analysis of polyomavirus transcription in mouse NIH 3T6 cells. Nuclei were isolated from cells infected for 6, 12, 18, or 24 hr, and run-on assays were performed. The resulting RNAs were then hybridized to a number of immobilized early- and late-strand-specific probes, which represent the entire polyoma genome. Results indicate that the late promoter is always on, even in the absence of DNA replication. Even though the early-late switch is characterized by a greater than 300-fold difference in the ratio of steady-state early- and late-strand RNAs, there is only a 2-fold effect at the level of transcription initiation. Furthermore, the efficiency of termination for late transcripts is very high at early times during infection (greater than 90%) but drops drastically at late times (less than 40%). In other experiments, we have found an increase in splicing efficiency of late pre-mRNA molecules that parallels the decrease in termination efficiency. These results, taken together with other studies from our laboratory, have led us to propose two possible models for the temporal control of polyomavirus late gene expression.

Animals↗

Active cyclin B-cdc2 kinase does not inhibit DNA replication and cannot drive prematurely fertilized sea urchin eggs into mitosis.

Feedback mechanisms preventing M phase occurrence before S phase completion are assumed to depend on inhibition of cyclin B-cdc2 kinase activation by unreplicated DNA. In sea urchin, fertilization stimulates protein synthesis and releases eggs from G1 arrest. We found that in the one-cell sea urchin embryo cyclin B-cdc2 kinase undergoes partial activation before S phase, reaching in S phase a level that is sufficient for G2-M phase transition. S phase entry is not inhibited by this level of cyclin B-dependent kinase activity. Inhibition of DNA replication by aphidicolin suppresses nuclear envelope breakdown, yet it does not prevent the microtubule array from being converted from its interphasic to its mitotic state. Moreover, mitotic cytoplasmic events occur at the same time in control and aphidicolin-treated embryos. Thus unreplicated DNA only prevents mitotic nuclear, not cytoplasmic, events from occurring prematurely. These results together show that the inhibition of cyclin B-cdc2 kinase activation is probably not the only mechanism that prevents mitotic nuclear events from occurring as long as DNA replication has not been completed. In contrast, cytoplasmic mitotic events seem to be controlled by a timing mechanism independent of DNA replication, set up at fertilization, that prevents premature opening of a window for mitotic events.

Animals↗

Establishment of infection by spleen necrosis virus: inhibition in stationary cells and the role of secondary infection.

The relationship of two early events in the establishment of infection by avian retroviruses, the inhibition of viral DNA synthesis in stationary avian cells and the secondary infection which occurs after infection of replicating cells, was investigated. When neutralizing antibody to spleen necrosis virus was used to prevent secondary infection, the amount of unintegrated linear spleen necrosis virus DNA detected was much lower in infected stationary cells than in infected replicating cells. The amount of unintegrated linear spleen necrosis virus DNA in stationary cells was less than one copy per cell even at high multiplicities of infection. Viral DNA synthesis resumed after stimulation of the cells to replicate. The time of this viral DNA synthesis was closely correlated with renewed cellular DNA synthesis. In addition, blocking secondary infection of replicating cells prevented the rate of virus production from reaching the high levels usually associated with a normal productive infection by SNV. Virus production increased if secondary infection was allowed. However, this rise in virus production was not proportional to the amounts of viral DNA integrated after secondary infection.

Alpharetrovirus↗

Genetic dissection of a mammalian replicator in the human beta-globin locus.

The timing and localization of DNA replication initiation in mammalian cells are heritable traits, but it is not known whether initiation requires specific DNA sequences. A site-specific recombination strategy was used to show that DNA sequences previously identified as replication initiation sites could initiate replication when transferred to new chromosomal locations. An 8-kilobase DNA sequence encompassing the origin of DNA replication in the human beta-globin locus initiated replication in the simian genome. Specific deletions within the globin origin did not initiate replication in these chromosomal sites. These data suggest that initiation of DNA replication in mammalian cells requires specific sequence information and extend the replicon hypothesis to higher eukaryotes.

Animals↗